Why I think they are guilty...XXXVII (long post)

Why I think they are guilty...XXXVII (long post)

Ok, I will give this another shot. But let me first state that this is merely my opinion. The points can be argued over and over, but the rash of people asking: What made me decide the wm3 are guilty? can only be answered by my own feelings. You may label them illogical, flawed or describe them as sloppy, but you all asked, so I am telling you.

Ill start back in 1993 when the murders occurred; I heard about it on the news of course and didnt follow the trial very extensively other than sound bites. I heard they were found guilty and that was that. A few years later, I came across a copy of Blood of Innocents. After reading it I still didnt think that two juries could get it wrong. I then saw Paradise Lost and it piqued my interest. I was surfing the web one night and wound up at WebSleuths where I began reading some posts about the case. I had no idea how extensive the online presence was. I saw Paradise Lost II and realized a movement had started, so I returned to the Internet to see what the fuss was about, still wavering on the guilty side. The more I read, the stranger this case seemed. I began taking in all the common supporter theories (i.e. Byers, dump site, coerced confession, tunnelvision, etc.)I thought something was wrong and these people were right, these guys must be innocent.

By this time I was posting, reading and researching with Veccis Board as a homebase. BC sent me what was commonly called the Supporter CD that contained documents obtained by ChrisW. I read, argued, debated and researched daily beginning in about June of 2000.

In December of 2000, I was graciously invited by former Vecci board Moderator, Marie to accompany her and AttyEddy to West Memphis to view the evidence files. As some may know, our mission to find the hole in the case was interrupted when Regina Meek had to rush to the hospital to be with a seriously ill friend. We didnt get a chance to extensively copy many files, but most of the day we did get to discuss the case with Regina Meek while reviewing many files. That face to face discussion resolved for me the issue of Mr. Bojangles. This trip also provided me my first trip into the woods. Surveying the layout and the area would be something that would be crucial in my change of opinion, but it would take a while to sink in.

After that trip, I began looking into things from a different perspective. Instead of listing discrepancies, I began trying to make them work rationally and to analyze whether they logically fit together.

Seeing the extent the police investigated, their door to door questionnaires, number of subjects tested and hearing Regina describe the events and work put in made me discount the Echols tunnelvison theory. Reading residence reports about cult activity (real or perceived) and understanding that because of previous conversations, Echols was a legitimate subject for an interview also aided in marking this off the list. It was his responses at that early interview that returned the focus back towards him.

The next thing that jumped out at me was the alibi of Damien Echols. After correspondence with Jennifer Bearden (who maintained she was on the phone with him that night), I began analyzing why she wasnt called to rebut Narlene Hollingsworths sighting. It was clear that the defense had a major problem solidifying Echols alibi. And while Jennifer could rebut Narlene, her account would contradict Damien in several areas. If Jennifer was accurate in her recounting, then Damien had lied to the police. Domini and Echols parents statements conflicted with him as well. I am not about to swallow the story that someone is lousy with times and therefore cant distinguish 3:00 in the afternoon with 7:00PM at night.

Next I revisited the confessions. There are so many! That point alone speaks volumes, especially considering Stidhams ill attempt to keep Jessie from talking post conviction. Here he was (someone Stidham insisted he could talk into saying anything) going against his attorneys pleas and confessing again. Twice he did this after sitting through a trial where his attorney argued he was coerced. Of course he recanted. This is where I began theorizing that Jessie was confessing and recanting not because the confessions were false or coerced, but because his remorse was dictating the confessions and his embarrassment towards his family and girlfriend was driving the recanting. You want to hold up Paradise Lost as being relevant? Review the parts with Jessie and his father or girlfriend, I think his words, body language and demeanor is very telling.

Next came the woods again. I began to visualize a dump scenario and how difficult it would be at night in the woods. Having seen them and the layout firsthand, I could not logically resolve the purpose of two dump spots (bodies and bikes). It occurred to me that the bikes were found in the most logical entry point into the woods from the neighborhood and that was most likely why they were dumped in the Bayou. So now, in my mind, I had nixed the dump theory. But what about the blood?

I questioned two neighbors, one a head of nursing and the other an intensive care pediatric nurse about the blood loss. While they are not experts in forensic pathology, they both kept pointing out to me that I was assuming more blood than would necessarily be required. Locals from the area pointed out the amount of water that was available in the ditch and police documents reported the brushed off area. Couple this with the Luminol photos that I had been shown at WMPD (and one of us had described as impressive) and the lack of visible blood carried less weight IMO and presented a lesser problem than accepting the irrational, illogical dump scenario.

Along this time, Byers timeline was being discussed. Discounting the dump theory and realizing after viewing the crime scene that this had to occur in daylight, I formed the opinion that the murders most likely occurred between 7PM and sunset on May 5th. TOD cannot be accurately predicted given the measurements taken. I feel after reviewing the whereabouts of Mark Byers that he had no opportunity to commit this crime in that time frame. So, IMO, the supporter red herring was thrown back in the water.

The major turning point came with the discussion of the fiber and hair evidence. While it has often been argued that they could have matched many since they were found only to be microscopically similar, I began laying out all the pieces.

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If the police had focused on Echols, if they had coerced a confession out of Jessie, how would they know that the fibers and hair would be microscopically similar to theirs and items found in their homes? I wasnt about to buy a conspiracy theory that included the cops, and several crime labs. I also wasnt conceding they got lucky.

Exhibit 500. Irrelevant to many supporters, but relevant enough that Echols own defense team investigators labeled it very damaging. To me it dispels the average misunderstood teenager mantra. It paints Echols as more of the type person my employee describes, someone way, way out there. Whether his antics in mental institutions were real or acted out is irrelevant, since his murderous actions on May 5th could have stemmed from a real disorder or were simply acts of his persona to further impress, disgust or manipulate others. He shows a history of violence and lashing out.

Finally, the question came to meWhat were the chances of Jessie naming accomplices whose alibis are shoddy, whose hair and fibers are similar to those found on the bodies, which at least one was spotted on the SR near the crime scene that night, who would be said to have confessed to other people, who had a fascination with knives and blood, who suffered from murderous ideations and had talked about sacrificing a kid?

A: Pretty damn slim.

This all may not work in a court of law, but I am not a juror. As I stated in the beginning, this is just my opinion. The bottom-line is, I think the right people are in jail. Tens years has not produced any exculpatory evidence, save the conflicting suggestions of bite marks which IMO are not bites but probably caused by the knife butt or other object. Echols lied in his alibi, he lied about being at the softball park. It was often put forth that Jessie did not hang around Jason & Damien, but more recent reports say otherwise and the statement of Jasons brother has Jessie meeting them the night after the murders.

I admit this wasnt a perfect investigation. It wasnt a perfect trial. I can handle that because of my opinion they are guilty. I can understand and respect those who think otherwise. As I recently told another poster, if I thought they were innocent I would be there arguing for their release or retrial as I once did and as many of you continue to do.

Im all for DNA testing, although I am not sure it will do anything to quash this controversy. I wouldnt even object to a retrial since it is not my tax dollars at stake, but I think the resulting verdicts would be the same. I also would be content with Echols sentence being commuted to life without parole.

Again, this may not be as concise as some would like, but it is my opinion in a nutshell. If I ever write a book, Ill be sure to include all the minute details.